


Falling

by Spiritfox1994



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Betrayal, F/M, Graphic Description, Horror, Other, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Rough Sex, Sex, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:54:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26474491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiritfox1994/pseuds/Spiritfox1994
Summary: The year is 2016, and the town of Flagstaff Arizona has been experiencing a rash of disappearances, kids, teenagers, and young adults alike. Having left Derry after the "Losers Club" had beaten him back, Pennywise finds itself a new hunting ground, but finds something much more than it had bargained for.
Relationships: Pennywise (IT) & Original Female Character(s), Pennywise (IT)/Original Character(s), original - Relationship
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author note: This story was inspired by Stephen King’s “IT” This particular Pennywise is based off of the 2017 Bill Skarsgard portrayal. This story takes place in the year 2016, in an Alternate Universe were Pennywise left the town of Derry after the events of 1989, were the Losers Club had pushed him back into hibernation early. As a WARNING: This story contains Extreme Violence, Sexual Violence, Disturbing Imagry, and Sexualy explicit content. Despite “Labeling” this is not a romance story, it is meant to be disturbing and uncomfortable to read, while enthralling enough to keep you all interested. This type of story is not for everyone so please, consider these things before you continue reading. Thank you very Much.
> 
> Please leave your comments! :)

**April 2016; Flagstaff Arizona**

The summer rains had hit Flagstaff hard this year, but that did not deter thirteen year old Patrick Levins from going out with his friends. Water splashed up onto his legs as his skate board drove through a large puddle as he turned the corner from Sixth to Izabel Street. The skatepark wasn’t the greatest, but it was the only one within a reasonable distance to his house. The group of three teenagers rolled up next to the gate, picking up their boards as Patrick unhooked the latch on the gate and pushed it open, the wet iron waking a dull creaking sound. 

“Hey Pat, do you really think we should be here? I mean….it’s already getting pretty late and that curfew….” Jose Masters asked, looking around at the quiet neighborhood, the heavy gray clouds making it seem like the sun was setting early. 

“Oh PLEASE!” The exasperated voice of Lillian popped up. “That’s mostly for little kids! Besides it’s only five, we got two hours before the curfew anyway! Don’t be such a sissy!” 

Jose sighed and rolled his eyes as shook his head as he followed Patrick into the park. 

“She’s right, Jose. We got a few hours, and it’s not like we’re here alone or anything! We’ll be fine!” Patrick spoke up, plopping his backpack down onto the picnic bench set under an overhang. “We’ll just hang out and skate for an hour or two and then we’ll head on home! “ 

“All right all right!” Jose said, throwing his own bag down next to Patricks. “It’s just that my mom will have a fit if we stay out too long.” 

“You’r Mom needs to learn that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself!” Lillian said before hopping onto her board and rolling down into the bowl. The boys laughed and went to follow her. 

The three of them spent the next hour skating in the rain, constantly trying to outdo each other with their tricks. As Six-thirty started to come around, Patrick looked up to see a black and white police car pull up next to the gate. He sighed and kicked his board up into his hand as a woman in blue uniform got out of the car and made her way towards the gate. 

“Hey there!” The officer called out to them. “You three know what time it is right? Curfew is in about half an hour, you should be heading on home now!” 

“We know!” Patrick called back as Lillian and Jose came up beside him. “We were just about to head home!” 

“All right then. Stick together you three, we don’t need any more disappearances.” The cop tilted her cap before returning to her car and slowly driving away to continue her neighborhood patrol.

Patrick turned to the other two and shrugged. Letting his board fall back onto the pavement as he grabbed his bag. 

“Guess we should be heading on home then…” He sighed as Jose nodded anxiously. He had been acting antsy for a while now. 

Jose hadn’t wanted to say anything but he had been feeling uneasy for the last hour, constantly looking around him to check to see if someone was watching them. He hadn’t seen anything, only a feeling. 

Lillian scoffed at the two boys and shook her head, her hair looking nearly black because of the rain.

“Honestly you two are so fucking soft.” She said as she turned to return to the bowl. 

“Lilly, you’ll get in trouble if you're caught outside after curfew…” Jose said, making sure his bag was securely on his back. “Be sides...we were told to stay together….” 

“Well I don’t care.” the young girl said as she prepared to continue skating. “What kind of trouble, anyway? You really think my Dad gives two shits if I’m home late? He doesn’t even notice when I AM home, let alone when I’m not. Besides, why the fuck should I have to listen to some uniformed bitch? Does she think I can’t take care of myself. You two go. I’m staying.” And she leaned forward on her board, rolling down into the bowl. Patrick and Jose looked at each other before shaking their heads and turning to leave the park, passing through the gate and making their way back down the street. 

“All right, Lilly! We’ll see you at school!” Patrick called out as he turned the corner and began to make his way down sixth street. 

Lilly popped up onto the rim and waved at the two of them as they left, before turning and continuing to practice how to blunt a Fakie. However as she was getting ready to Ollie and go back down the ramp, her wheels lost traction on the wet pavement, causing the board to slip out from under her, sending her tumbling down into the bowl.

As she finally stopped sliding, her board rolled down the ramp, slamming into her skinned up shin, causing her to call out in a brief moment of sharp pain. 

“Owww….” She moaned, sitting up and looking at the blood on her hands, arms, and legs. She sat there shaking for a moment before reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone when a sudden, cracked, squeaky voice came to her ears. 

“My my, that was a nasty fall you took there Lills!” Lilly turned her head up, and at the top of the wrap was sitting….a Clown? 

Large blue eyes were staring at her, buck-teeth grinning at her past bright red lips that were painted into a smile that when all the way past his eyes, nearly to the crop of bright red hair. His silver, ruffled suit with red buttons shining slightly in the rain and lamplight. In his hand was a cluster of red balloons. 

The clown smiled down at Lillian, tilting his head ever so slightly. 

“Yes, a Nasty fall indeed. Would you like some help?” 

Lilly stared at him, severely off put due to the painted on smile and, ewww, was that drool? Gross! She shook her head and tried to get to her feet, despite how badly her legs were hurting. 

“Er….no...I’m fine, I’ll call for my brother to come pick me up….” She said, keeping her eye on the clown. 

“Your brother?” The clown asked, “And he’s not with you now? You know kids have been disappearing right?” 

“Yea….I was here with some friends but they had to leave….” She said, leaning against the ramp wall as she bent to pick up her skateboard.

“Well….” The clown stated swallowing and quickly licking his lips, trying to get rid of that drool she suspected, “While you wait for your brother I’ll stay here. It’s not safe for you to be alone….” And with that he stood up and slid down the bowl, landing on his tippy toes like a dancer, small bells hidden on his suit jingling at the movement. 

“Er...okay, thanks, I guess…:Lilly stated, instinctively leaning away from the strange man, who she now noticed was shockingly tall, with long skinny legs and arms. 

He smiled at her before making a small gasp, and slapping his forehead in an overly-dramatic way. 

“Tsk tsk tsk, where are my manners! No wonder you're so cautious, I never introduced myself!” He said before making a small bow, his arms firmly at his side. “My name is Pennywise, the Dancing Clown!” He said, shaking slightly, making the bells jingle again as he said the word ‘Dancing’. Lilly couldn’t help but give a wry smile at the clown. The guy certainly seemed to enjoy his job, which was a little creepy but so far, harmless. 

Pennywise took a step towards Lilly and pulled one of the balloons away from the rest of the bundle and held it out towards the girl. 

“Would you like a balloon?” He asked and Lilly laughed before shrugging and reaching out to take the balloon. As her hand reached out, she didn’t notice as blue eyes turned to a bright yellow, following her movements. Lilly took the balloon and pulled it back towards herself. As she looked back at the clown she was taken aback by his eyes, still blue to her, but one of them seems to have drifted off to look in a different direction. She swallowed and took another step away before Pennywise cleared his throat. 

“You should be careful, Lilly, being in this park. There are a bunch of snakes around this area…” 

She stopped, her eyes going wide as her bloody hand clenched the string of the balloon.

“S….snakes?” She said, her voice trembling slightly. She hated, HATED snakes so much. Even those small water snakes that couldn't hurt you! They were just so Creepy! 

“Yes, yes snakes…..” Pennywise said slowly, his creaking voice taking on a sound that bordered on a growl. “Like that one.” He said, one eye looking at her hand. 

Lilly suddenly felt the balloon go heavy, the string turning thick and cold, and starting to move. She turned her eyes towards it to see a bright green snake in her hand, yellow eyes staring angrily at her as it opened its mouth to hiss, two long fangs glistening. 

Letting out a loud screech, she practically threw the snake onto the ground, turning and backing away from the wall of the ramp, her back running right into a hard, silver-silk covered chest. She heard a deep, animalistic growl come from behind and above her. Shaking she looked directly above her head, to see those yellow eyes, and rows of sharp teeth peeking out from behind a red smile. 

Less than ten minutes later, the police had tapped off the skate park, and were searching the area for any indication for were Lillian Mars may have gone after the reports of screaming had come in from the nearby apartment building. After several hours of searching the park, they recovered her board, her bag, and one leg, found near a drainage tunnel. 


	2. Graduation Day

**_Graduation Day_ **

**_May 2016, Flagstaff Arizona_ **

Maria found herself begrudging the summer heat, even as the sun was setting on her outdoor High School graduation ceremony. Sitting in one of those metal folding chairs, wearing a heavy, satin graduation gown that was too big for her, her thick, dusty brown hair tied back into a tight braid starting from just below her cap. Sweat was getting in here eyes, causing her to rub at them constantly, careful not to dislodge her single contact lens. 

She didn’t really need it, it’s not like she had bad eyesight or anything, but her  complete heterochromia had caused her enough trouble in grade school, that she had started to wear a single contact lens over her green eye to make it match with her brown eye. But soon any of those worries should be behind her. She was eighteen and graduating from Coconino High School. Soon she would be going to NAU and begin studying medicine. A state university is no Med-school, but it was a step, get at least some of her schooling out of the way while she works and saves money to go to a specialist college. 

So absorbed in her thoughts of the future, she was mildly shocked when the other students around her started to stand in preparation to get their diplomas. Maria sighed and stood with them, shuffling to get into the carefully planned alphabetical line as she waited for her name to be called. 

This ceremony had already been going on far too long, for her liking, but it was nearly done. Once the rolled up papers were handed out, a photo was taken, and hats thrown, it would be over with, and Maria would no longer have to deal with High school life. 

“David Greene!” Applause as the tall boy with blonde hair made his way to the small stage. He took the paper from the principle, shook his hand and smiled for a photo, before hopping off the stage. David was one of the schools biggest jocks. Surprisingly, however, he was a part of the soccer team, not football, which actually made him a much more bearable guy, way more humble. Unfortunately media has ingrained into people that boys who play football need to be total dicks, and the team at this school played that part perfectly. However, it must be a hit to the ego that the goalie for the soccer team was the one who got the full-ride sports scholarship instead of the football quarterback. Nice to see stereotypes kicked in the face with a cleat. 

“Patricia Harris!” 

Talk about a stereotype. Patricia was that “Mean girl cheerleader” that is supposed to exist in every high school in the world. Luckily, most of the cheerleader stereotypes were avoided in Coconino, the majority of them being fairly decent people who just had way too much energy for Maria’s taste. Patricia, on the other hand, was the queen of all bitches. She had all the points checked off. Loaded Father, waif Mother, newest phone, shoes, car, clothes, etc. Had breast implants at the age of 16, died her hair barbie blonde, and always wore the most obnoxious shades of pink lip gloss. Maria had to wander how someone like this could ACTUALLY exist outside of television shows, despite the fact that she has seen it first hand for the last four years. It was baffling. Maria rolled her eyes and sighed as the petite blonde skipped onto the stage, took her photo, and winked and waved to the whole football field, as if she was the star of a play. If luck was on Maria’s side, Patricia would be going down to the Valley for college, or not going for a higher education at all. But, luck was rarely on her side. 

A few more names were called, “Matt Iris, Ruth Ister, Kaylin June, George Key,...” One after one the class of 2016 was walking up and taking their pictures before making their way to a set of bleachers and sitting down next to friends, getting ready for the big group photo and cap toss that would end this circus. 

“Maria Reigns!” Finally! Maria made her way up to the stage, having to pick up her gown as she walked up the stairs. The Principle of the school gave her a slightly disapproving look before handing her the ribbon bound scroll and shaking her hand. Maria turned to the camera and gave the best fake smile she could muster. Once the photo was taken she carefully made her way down the other side of the stage and to the metal bleachers, taking a seat on the lowest rung, in an attempt not to get completely surrounded by this mass of sweaty teenagers. 

As she sat down she looked around at the crowd of parents, siblings, and friends in the stands, hoping to pinpoint her father. It was hard to see because of lights, but even so, she doubted he would be there. The man had a tendency to forget things, even his only child’s graduation ceremony. While Maria actually had a very very good memory, for example in that moment she was still able to remember the time her father forgot to pick her up after school in the second grade, and a cop ended having to take her home when he found her sitting alone in the school parking lot nearly four hours after school got out. 

Letting out a sigh, Maria gave up on trying to find her father, instead picking out faces she recognized. Allot of them she knew better than she had hopped. Parents of children who should have been walking in today's ceremony, sitting in the front row, looking through all of the gown-wearing students, in vain hope that they would see their baby. Over twelve people had gone missing in the last four months, ranging from the ages of ten to twenty. Apparently the FBI had been called in to try and help, but so far nothing had been found save for a few small belongings...and limbs. 

She had to turn away from them. Maria couldn’t look at their faces, so scared, sad and hopeful all at the same time. Maria suspected they were all dead at this point. What do they say, that the first forty-eight hours are the most crucial for finding a kidnapped victim alive? It had been four days since the last disappearance. Maria rubbed her hands over her face, glad that she hadn’t tried to bother with makeup today, and sighed, wanting to go home and go to bed. Folding her hands together and pressing them against her mouth she looked straight ahead, hoping to find something to catch her interest as more and more students were called up and given diplomas. And, lucky her, something very interesting ended up catching her eye. 

On the far end of the field she could see a large bundle of red balloons, well over a dozen or so.Sitting up and blinking past the lights, Maria tried to focus on them more, to see if they were just tied there or….no. Someone was holding them. There was...a clown in a silver suit just standing there, with a bunch of balloons. Had someone hired a clown for graduation? That seemed a little weird, considering they were hardly little kids. But something else was off. The clown seemed to be staring, right at Maria. Or so it felt. Intense eyes seemed to boor right into her as one gloved hand raised and started to wave. Maria frowned in confusion before giving a small wave back, which seemed to delight the man in white face paint. 

“Hey!” 

Maria thought she had lept ten feet into the air when she heard the familiar voice speak from right beside her. She turned to look at the wide grin and messy red hair of Charles Tristerson, the only person Maria could confidently call a friend. His bright green eyes and freckles gave him a permanent youthfulness, even if he was already over six feet tall. However as of right now he seemed confused and amused by her reaction to him. 

“Whoa...didn’t mean to scare ya!” He said with a laugh. ‘What’re you doing spacing out during graduation anyway?!” 

“Oh, sorry….I was just looking at that Clown…” She replied turning to motion to the man with the balloons, but he was gone. She blinked and looked around, craning her neck to see if she could spot that big bundle of red again.

“A clown?” Charlie said, looking the general direction Maria was. “Come on Mar, is not very nice to call Jason a clown!” She said, slapping her on the back with a laugh, clearly thinking she had meant it as an insult to the kid currently on his way to get his diploma. 

“No….A clown, like with a big grin and a red nose. He was over there, by the entrance.” She said pointing to where she had seen him. Charlie shrugged and shook his head, fiddling with the paper in his hands.

“So what? Someone probably just hired him for the kids who came to watch their big siblings graduate. It’s not important, what IS important is the fact that we are almost out of this fucking hell hole! “

Maria had to laugh, shrugging and nodding in agreement. He was right. Now wasn’t the time to be wandering about some weird clown, they were about to move on past high school, have a nice long summer, before going off to college, really starting their lives in earnest from here on out. She bumped her shoulder against Charlie's and he laughed, putting an arm around her shoulder for a tight, friendly hug. 

The two of them sat and chatted, applauding with everyone else as name after name was called until finally the last student, the poor girl, was called, photographed, and made her way to the bleachers with everyone else. Despite Maria’s efforts, she still felt horribly claustrophobic being surrounded by so many students in such a small space, those big gowns not helping to alleviate any of it. Carlie and Maria put their arms over each other's shoulder and gave each other a wry grin as the photographer prepared his camera. 

“You ready to be free?” Charlie asked, having to practically yell over the noise of the other students. 

“Hell yeah!” Maria replied, laughing. 

“All right! On the count of three everyone yell ‘Class of 2016!’ “ The photographer said with a grin. Maria, along with everyone else, all stood up, taking off their caps to be ready to toss them up into the air. She turned and gave Charlie one more big smile before looking back towards the camera, the photographer, and once again that big bundle of balloons, only now it was closer, much closer. The clown was standing right behind the photographer, standing at what looked like nearly seven feet tall. He was giving her a big, buck-toothed grin, bright yellow eyes staring right at her, no mistake. Maria blinked, wondering how he had gotten there so quickly, and why no one else, not even Charlie seemed to notice him. 

“Okay, One, Two, THREE!” The photographer called and all the caps around Maria went flying upwards into the air as nearly one hundred students all called at once. “Class of Twenty Sixteen!” 

Maria had not taken her eyes off the clown, had not called out the phrase or tossed her cap. She just stared as if transfixed, before a single cap passed into her line of vision, obscuring the clown, and then falling passed. Leaving nothing but a single balloon were the silver clown had stood. 


	3. Brittany Asters and Mateo Florez

**_Brittany Asters and Mateo Florez_ **

The night of graduation had been a blast for the majority of the students at Coconino High school, including Brittany Asters. After the big photo was taken the crowd of young adults all split apart and went running to find their parents, to get hugs, kisses, flowers, stuffed animals, and so on. Brittany was no different, booking it on her tiny legs towards her father, leaping into his arms with a joyous cry of pure happiness. The tall man, who was at that point in his mid forties, squeezed her so tightly she thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. 

“I’m so proud of you, baby doll!” He said, as he hugged her, Brittany could see that his eyes were shining with tears that were damn near flooding out. She gave him another hug, long, white, ropy arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her father had always been her foundation, her grounding pole throughout her adolescence. Graduating had hit home the fact that soon she would be leaving, living in a dorm with strangers rather than with her Father and little brother. 

Eventually pulling away from the hug, Brittany turned to look at the other students, hoping to find the ones she knew so she could talk to them, feeling like she had to get all of her words out at once, before they ended up being lost to time forever. Luckily she was able to catch sight of Maria and Charles, both of them talking to Mr and Ms. Tristerson, Charlie’s parents. Maria had already unzipped her graduation gown was basically just wearing it as a coat over her purple tank-top and jeans. Brittany could never fully understand the girl, why she never wore makeup or dressed up, even for graduation! But that wasn’t really that important, in the long run, Brittany knew that Maria was really smart, smarter than those boys in the chess club. She was top of her class, a straight A student, and apparently also knew how to hunt, camp, and fly-fish! But...Brittany figured that most the people in Flagstaff probably knew those things, what with it being a very woodsy town, and having come from Phoenix, Brit knew for a fact that she probably came off as being very “City girl” but that was fine. 

She was about to start her analyzing on Charlie when two arms wrapped themselves around her from behind, causing her to squeal as her boyfriend, Mateo, lifted her up into a big hug. She laughed, willing her little heart to stop beating so damn fast, turning to give him a peck on the cheek as he set her down on the grass. Mateo was a very handsome young man, looking older than he was with his thick dark hair, square jaw, and almond eyes. He looked like he could be a football player, with his muscular build, but that had come from hard work in his younger days, working on a ranch outside of town with his dad and grandfather ever since he was ten. Brittany loved that about him though. Big strong guy, who loved horses and was a total sweetheart, especially to her. 

“Congratulations, Mateo!” Brittany’s father said, shaking the young man’s hand. 

“Thank you, Mr. Asters.” He said with a bright smile, god he had a beautiful smile. “Brittany was a huge help. I don’t think I would have graduated without her helping me study last semester…”

Brittany blushed lightly, tucking her hair behind her ear. It’s true she had helped him in the library a few times, but she really didn’t think she deserved that kind of credit. He was smarter than he gave himself credit for. She looked up to her dad who gave them both a kind, knowing smile. 

“Well you two go and have a chat with your friends. I need to get billy home and in bed, but he wanted to stay to see the hats fly.” He said with a chuckle, looking at the eight year old boy who was currently talking his his own friends who had come to see their older siblings walk. “How late will this party you're going to run?”

“It'll be over by midnight, Daddy.” She said and immediately noticed the look of concern on her father’s face. She sighed. “Dad, I’m eighteen, and it's not like I’m gonna be alone. We’ll be sticking together.”

Mr. Asters sighed and nodded, patting his little girl on the shoulder.

“I know that sweet-pea. It's just….with all those people going missing, I’m worried about you two. Just….promise me you’ll be careful, okay?” 

“I promise.” She said with a big grin. Her father nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and shook Mateo’s hand one more time before going to get Billy and take him home. Brittany watched as her father and little brother made their way out of the stadium, along with several families who were on their way to go have their own celebrations. Brittany took Mateo’s hand in her own and smiled up at him.

“You okay, Brit?” He asked, pushing her hair back, it always seemed to fall into her face. She sighed and nodded, leaning against his chest. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Just…..it’s a bit shocking is all, but I’ll be okay.” She gave a big grin before turning to see if she could spot Maria and Charlie again, and sure enough, there they were. Ugh! Apparently Patricia couldn’t leave them alone, even on graduation. Seriously did that girl think everyone cared about her opinion as much as she did?

Brittany looked up at Mateo, who had also noticed the scene, and they started to make their way towards the group.

“Honestly , Maria, have some pride! You COULD have at least tried to look decent for graduation!” Patricia’s voice was shrill in Brittany’s ears, and had to have been even worse for Maria, who was much closer to the source. But Brittany had to give it to the girl, Maria looked down right bored by the scenario. Most would be yelling back or simply walked away, but Maria was just staring at her like she was some annoying kid in a grocery store. 

“I think she looks fine.” Brittany said loud enough for the group to hear. “Not everyone likes dresses and heals, Patty, she looks fine.” 

Patricia turned to Brittany, her nose wrinkled up in sneer. 

“Don’t call me that.” Patricia spat, looking outright furious. The good thing about having once been her friend, Brittany knew all the right buttons to push, and that made her smile.

“Why not?” Charlie said with a grin. “You could be Patty Patticake! You could go join that Clown Maria saw. You certainly wear enough makeup for it.” 

Charlie laughed at his own joke, as one does, but Brittany was confused, looking at Maria who was now looking behind her, a very concerned look in her eyes. Something seemed off. Brittany reached out and put a hand on the taller girl’s shoulder, drawing her attention.

“You okay?” She asked, concerned. Maybe Maria didn’t like clowns? 

“Yeah….yeah I’m fine.” Maria said, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing. So...Charlie, any chance I could get a ride home from ya?” 

Patricia, who had been scowling from Charlie’s comment, made a legitimate frown of confusion. 

“You aren’t going to the party?” She asked, folding her arms over her chest. Maria shook her head. Brittany wasn’t surprised. Anyone who knew Maria knew she hated crowds, one reason why she was never a part of the big events, like Prom or homecoming. 

“I gotta get home.” Maria said simply before looking back to Charlie. “So about that ride?” 

“Yeah, I’ll drop you off.” Charlie said, scratching the back of his head. “Lemme go tell my parents that I’ll be home late and then I’ll be ready to go.” Maria nodded and they all watched as Charlie ran off to go talk to his parents. Patricia scoffed and turned away from the other three, trying to march away in pumps, on grass. Maria and Brittany both ended up getting one hell of a laugh out of watching her stumble as her heels sank into the dirt. 

“I wish you would come to the party, Maria.” Brittany said quietly. “We never got to hang out much, so...I was hoping to spend more time with you before going off to College.” 

Maria shrugged, turning to look at Brittany. 

“I mean, we got pretty much all summer, right? Besides, I think we’re both going to NAU right? We’ll see each other around.” She gave another small smile before looking back up at where Charlie was waving at her. “I gotta get going. You two enjoy the party.” 

Brittany and Mateo both wished Maria good night before making their own way to Mateo’s car, both of them taking off their graduation robes and tossing them in the back seat. Once inside, Brittany could feel his hand brush her hair over her shoulder. She turned to look at him and turned right into a kiss. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back, feeling that familiar heat that always started to build in her gut. 

The kiss lasted much longer than he had intended, and by the time he pulled away they were both breathing hard, he could see that her lips were pink and swollen from the force of it. That small part of him wanted to forget about the party and instead take her back to his house, but he knew it would never happen. The Celibacy ring on her finger meant much more to her than it did to most people. But that was okay. He found her dedication and respect for her own body to be something worth admiring, even it was rather frustrating to his own. So he gave her another peck on the lips before turning and starting up his car. 

The drive to the party was not too far, luckily. They had rented out what was practically a ballroom in the 1895 Bar and Grill, a nice place, that seemed to fit into the style of Flagstaff all too well. The streets downtown were still bustling with activity, not to surprising for a college town, but the sun had set behind those familiar gray clouds that had been hanging over Flagstaff all summer so far. Mateo couldn’t help but feel as if every new disappearance lent to the dark skies. As if...each time another person vanished, another cloud would form.

Mateo had to shake those thoughts out of his head, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about people disappearing or the shitty weather, they had just graduated High school! Now should be a time for fun! And so, fun is what he was determined to have. As the two of them pulled into the parking lot, the only parking spot was one of those parallel spots that always seemed to be such a pain to get into. He sighed and pulled forward before switching into reverse and trying to pull into the space that he swore was way too small for a standard car. 

It took a couple of minutes of going back and forth, but eventually he was able to park the car fairly straight and turned off the engine. As Brittany started to get out of the car, Mateo took a moment to adjust his mirrors, as he always did, making sure his side-view and rear-view were properly adjusted, as they had a tendency to jostle out of place while driving. 

As he reached up to adjust the rear-view mirror he frowned at the reflection inside of it. He turned to look over his shoulder and….nothing? He sat straight again and frowned up into the mirror, wandering what weird lighting could have caused that illusion. For a moment he thought he had seen something moving in his back seat, something with yellow eyes. 

A tap on the window caused him to jump as Brittany waved at him to get out of the car. He sighed and shook his head. Whatever it was, had obviously been a trick of the mind or something, so he got out of the car and pushed the door closed with his foot, making sure to lock it as they started to make their way into the restaurant. 


	4. New Home

**_New Home_ **

Flagstaff was a very different town from Derry, Pennywise had learned quickly. Without having been under his influence for a long time, the people here were much more protective of their children, and much more aware of strange things happening. Of course, he still had his defenses, being visible only to those few people he wanted to see him. The Sewers here were also much better kept, making it far more difficult for him to feast in peace. His first meal here was nearly interrupted as one of the cleaning crew had heard his meals screams. Luckily it would seem that humans still never look up when trying to find something. 

He despised having to leave his favored hunting ground, but he knew, just knew, that those brats would be there when he woke from his sleep, and if he had remained, he would have starved. So, having to leave Derry was a long and arduous process for It. He traveled as far as he could through the sewers, until finally he had to emerge out into the open air and sunlight, either remaining invisible or taking on the guise of a lost traveler or animal in hopes of some good hearted fool would pick him up. And they did. They always did. Either out of pity, or attraction for a cute guise. He was certain that he had feasted on at least three different “Serial Killers” on his journey to find a new dwelling. 

Eventually he made his way to Arizona. The heat, at first, was torturous. The large cities in the hottest part of the state made him want to vomit, the stink and heat of human waste was nearly unbearable, but luckily he managed to find his way up into the mountains of northern Arizona, to the little college town of Flagstaff, where the population was young and stupid. While he could not hunt his preferred prey as of right now, young children being far too closely watched over, he found new fun in preying on teenagers and young adults, those who were far to headstrong and confident in themselves. The ones who delighted in disobeying their parents and authority figures, made the easiest prey. Scaring them, however, was a bit more of a challenge. He had to observe longer, get closer, read them. 

Back in 1989, when he had first arrived, he didn’t have time to feast on flesh and fear before going into his hibernation. He was far too tired to hunt at that point. He knew that when he awoke he would be hungrier than he had ever been in his long, long existence. So, he was careful with finding his new home. While the sewers were still his best bet for quiet and seclusion, the problem still remained that he was unfamiliar with this terrain, and he had no guarantee for if he would be left alone, unable to influence these humans as he had those in Maine. So, he was careful and quiet, scouting out the dark tunnels methodically until he was able to find the lower levels, the old tunnels that had been long since abandoned. Most of the entrances to those tunnels had been cemented over, but he was able to find one, one very close to a high school, that should allow him to have fairly easy pickings of the teenagers. And so he built up his little home in one of the lowest chambers, taking small items he was able to find on the service to build his lair, barely more than a cave with some semblance of a bed, or nest. And then he lay down to sleep. 

Twenty Seven years later he did, indeed, awake with a fierce hunger. So intense his first reaction on waking was a deep growl of hatred towards his escaped prey. After a fit of rage, he slowly, carefully made his way up to the water drains along the roads to look at the changed city. Amazing, really, how much things change in twenty seven years. The streets looked freshly paved, new flashing lights for signs in front of a school, instead of the old letter boards. Bicycles that made buzzing noises and ran off of motors, like a child's motorcycle. Small, thin contraptions humans were using to communicate with each other. He had to admit one thing, humans were very quick to advance. But that also made them cocky and stupid, much more susceptible to their fears, after all...they create such grand things, how could there possibly be anything they don’t understand?

Less than a day after waking, Pennywise took his first meal of the year, a homeless woman who had been sleeping in an alleyway. Still unsure of his new surroundings, he figured it would be safest to take someone that no one would miss. It was not hard to frighten the older woman, simply take on the form of the man who had broken her spirit. It wasn’t the best of meals, but in that moment he hadn’t cared, he was starving, and in need of food. And so she was the first in Flagstaff to float. 

It had been a few months since that woman, and Pennywise had been quick to learn the best times, places, and what prey to go for. His presence had certainly been noticed, what with a curfew being placed, and armed patrols making their way around neighborhoods, but those he could deal with on his own. Hell, most of the time the food took care of it for him. Teenagers sneaking out in the middle of the night for a lovers tryst, drunkards passing out in the street, and the occasional child whose parents simply didn’t seem to care. So far he was feeding well, much better than he had back in Derry, but he was aware that he needed to be cautious. If he happened to come upon another group like he had before, he would be run off again, and he did not want that. Now that he could slow down a bit, he took more time to study his prey before appearing to them, sometimes opting for a different meal. And now that school was out, he would have even more time to flavor the meat, as kids would not be trapped in their little prisons with adults for at least a few months. They would be outside, walking around, being even more stupid than they already were, drunk off of summer heat. That was one of the reasons why he had attended the graduation, to start scouting his prey early, so he knew who to focus on. 

But that one girl had thrown a wrench into his plans, slightly. He wasn’t even sure as to why he had let her see him when he did, he was supposed to just be window shopping, but no. He showed himself to her and she saw, she definitely saw. The thing that got to him the most was the way she smelled when she saw him. No fear, none, just confusion and...a strange curiosity about her. Something was off about that girl, but he just couldn’t place it. Perhaps she simply was one of the rare few who were no longer afraid of clowns? Or maybe she was simply used to experiencing weird things, being a new age with new technology and horror movies and television. 

However the curiosity about her had distracted him from his original plan. He wanted to learn more, to see what she does fear, and feast on it. And so he followed her. She got into a car with the red-haired boy and he took her to an apartment building not too far from where he had taken the snake girl. When she got out of the car and said good night to the young man she stood outside the door for a short while, taking off her cap and robe. He watched her as she did so. She looked older than the other kids at the graduation, especially her eyes, seemed to have a deep wisdom to them. He had heard other humans mention people with “Old Souls”, perhaps this is what they had meant. 

Pennywise let his yellow eyes crest over her figure for a moment, and could feel saliva starting to build under his tongue. Children were tasty because of how easy they were to scare, but this woman looked like she would be a great meal. She wasn’t skinny or bony, her body had those natural curves of a real woman, her legs looked firm and muscled under her jeans, she was certainly athletic looking. Pennywise would almost had called her attractive, but his thoughts, at that moment, was that he wanted to completely devour her.

He was about to, as well. He was all ready to make himself appear in front of her again when she turned and made her way into the building. Even from his distance he was able to hear the door lock behind her, and hear the voice inside. 

“Where have you been, coming home so late?” It was the voice of a man. Pennywise frowned at the voice, he didn’t like it. It seemed like a human who didn’t even want to put effort into speaking.

“It was Graduation today, Dad.” 

Her voice. He had heard it before when she tried to tell her friend about seeing Pennywise. A voice that was surprisingly deep for a young woman, but still plenty feminine. He had a strength to it what made a shiver go up his spine.  _ She will be a hard one to frighten. _ He knew that. He could tell just from that voice. He listened in on the rest of their conversation before the growling in his stomach caused him to turn away. Tonight was not the right night to take her, he would need to plan more before then. For now, he needed a far easier prey and so he quickly made his way to wear all those kids were gathering for their party.

It was practically like an all you can eat buffet for Pennywise. All of those young, stupid teenagers all gathered in one place, being loud and rowdy, getting drunk off of the atmosphere and the snuck in booze. In the first two hours alone he had the perfect opportunity to pick off at least a dozen of them who had snuck out to the back of the restaurant to either vomit, smoke, or fuck. But he waited. He felt almost depressed. After seeing his perfect meal in front of him, none of these scrawny, giggly KIDS held any interest in him. He simply sat there, taking the form of a small, grey cat, watching as one by one his prey returned to the safety of their herd. It was nearly four, long tedious, hours later when, Finally, one of the more tasty kids came out back to light up a cigarette. 

It was a young man, maybe about five foot ten, with bleached blonde hair cut short on the sides. He still wasn’t anywhere near as appetizing as the girl with old soul, but he had meat on him, and was very, very easy to read. 

Patrick, was his name. Pennywise didn’t even have to read him to figure that out, one of his friends had called him before. And his fear...his fear was an old one, old and classic, nothing that would give Pennywise trouble in creating. Using the stealth of the cat he was currently pretending to be, he slinked back into the darkest shadows and took on its shape. 

Patrick was looking at something on his phone when the wind around him started to pick up, causing leaves and debris to swirl around him, as if a helicopter was getting ready to take off right above him, Pennywise was actually able to see the goosebumps rise on the boys flesh. Blue eyes darted around the alleyway as lights flickered madly and a dull humming noise filled his ears.He was right beside him, if he wanted to he could grab him right then and there. But he didn’t the sheer terror he was slowly building hadn’t reached it’s climax yet. Patrick turned to go back inside, snuffing out the butt of his cigarette as he did so. Pennywise locked the door with an invisible hand.

“What the fuck? Hey guys, open the door!” Patrick's voice was already shaking. He knew what all the signs pointed to. Despite being told it was stupid so many times, he knew they were real, he knew it! Pennywise smiled at the voice, the fear and made himself visible behind the boy, letting out a very audible, very hungry growl as he did so. Patrick froze where he stood and turned slowly to look behind him. He had to crane his head upwards as he saw the tall, green creature, large black eyes reflecting the frightened image of his own face. Three long fingers reached out and covered his mouth before he had the chance to scream, as the thin line that was a mouth opened into rows and rows of sharp, glistening teeth.

Just as the final realization hit Patrick, the fear had peaked in his heart, Pennywise felt the vomit come up against his hand, the boy was no longer able to contain it. He smiled and lunged forward, sinking his hundreds of teeth into the boy’s shoulder and tore away, taking with him at least two pounds of flesh. The boy screamed against his hand, tears instantly coming into the wide, dilated eyes. 

Swallowing the raw meat in one gulp, Pennywise dragged the bleeding boy away from the door and down into the nearby sewer drain, leaving only a trail of blood that was quickly washed away by the rain. 

Once in the quiet safety of the tunnels, Pennywise dragged his latest snack back down the pipes, tearing off new chunks of flesh along the way, all the while hearing the terrified, painful moans of a boy who was bleeding to death. For a second he forgot about Maria, and simply enjoyed his meal, well flavored with fear and despair, filling his grumbling stomach. He had almost completely devoured his prey by the time he got back to his home. He dropped the boy on the ground and looked him, not having returned to his prefered form of the silver clown. Patrick was still alive, barely, and staring up at that white face, unable to speak or move due to the loss of blood and the shock. Pennywise knelt down next to him, a fun, child-like smile on his round face. 

“It’s alright Patrick.” He said with his friendly voice, before looking above him. Just past the clowns bright red hair, Patrick wa able to see the dozens of bodies floating in the tall tunnel, simply swirling around a small pile of belonging that Pennywise had started to collect, as he does. The clown looked back down at the boy, eyes bright shining gold. “Don’t you worry. You’ll float down here too.”

And, as he does, he pulled back his lips, letting his real maw emerge from under the skin of his current form. Patrick had a vague vision of lights before the eternal darkness consumed his entire being.

Pennywise watched at Patrick floated up to join the others. Feeling well fed and in a good mood, he decided to go and scout out his prey again. He remembered exactly where that apartment was, and he knew just the pipes to take to get their quickly. 

The journey was much faster under ground, and he emerged through a small drain on the floor of the walk-in shower. Invisible to the human eye, he walked out of the bathroom and looked around the small apartment for a moment, out of curiosity of her living space. The living room was small, and only had one chair in it, set in front of an old television. There were beer cans strewn about the place, along with several wrappers, bags, and leftover TV-Dinner trays. For a moment Pennywise thought he may have actually gone back in time, everything seemed so old and dull in comparison to the new age outside these walls. 

He went through the kitchen, looking in the fridge and cabinets, they were all nearly empty, he didn’t understand. Were they poor? Or did they just not care? Shaking his head he made his way back down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms. Inside was a king-sized bed that was old and smelled like piss and booze, laying on top of it was an older man, maybe in his late forties to early fifties. He had the same dusty hair as the girl, and he had to guess that this was the father who had forgotten about his daughter’s graduation. 

The man’s snoring was loud and aggravating, causing Pennywise to growl slightly in disgust for this creature. Even if he had never thought much of humans to begin with, he had still thought most better than this waste of space. For a moment he thought about how a man like this would make very very easy prey, but then realized it would probably leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth. Pennywise shut the door again and then went into the next room over. It was her bedroom. 

For the first time since arriving he found a clean place in the house. Her room was small and simple, she had very few belongings. In one corner was a fishing tackle and a small case that he assumed must hold hooks and bait. The closet was slightly ajar, and he could see inside was mostly denim and t-shirts. A few sweaters, and tank-tops dotted among them, along with one dress that still had a tag on it. 

Turning back towards the small, twin bed, which on closer inspection was nothing more than a camping cot, he saw her. She was curled up on her side, wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a tank-top to sleep. She had kicked her blankets off the foot of the cot, her single pillow laid neatly under her head, brown hair still braided. Pennywise tilted his head as he tried to read her dreams. It seemed incoherent, one of those nonsense creations of the human mind. He took a few steps away from her, leaning against the corner of the wall that connected her door to her closet, and simply stood there, watching her sleep and breathe, bathing in the scent that was of soap and coconut. 

_ What is this woman? _


End file.
